It’s hard to just sit down and write, with no internet or tv or radio to distract you..or daylight. I think I work better when there is no sunlight but I have been out in the sun light that day. Anyways, thats a tangent that I am going to overshadow; Back to the process of writing, of creating, of making something, from nothing, out of what is inside you. OF course we are influenced by all of the things outside of us as well, which can really take it’s toll on a person. In fact, I have come to realize that the majority of people are not super enlightened, joy-seeking, light beings, but are simply average joes. They have been brainwashed, or conditioned, by the system, by their parents, by their social circles, by their neighborhoods, essentially, by their environment, to blunder through life, filled with anger, sadness, frustration, and probably a feeling that something is missing.

The ability to feel strong and safe in your environment, while also following your heart, is something that must be taught, that you must remind yourself of, that must become a daily practice. A belief system should be a daily practice, like any religion. Teaching yourself to live and see the world in a happy way, to stay positive, to not be brought down by other people’s negative thoughts, or heavy needy energy, is a daily practice, just like working out.

This is in order to make it easier to float like the light being that you are, that we all mostly are capable of being. This takes CONSTANT reminding..I cannot STRESS this enough, CONSTANT REMINDING THAT YOU ARE A LIGHT BEING, that your golden love and light filled aura is sealed to the negative energy of those near you, who you care about or must encounter in daily life. By taking time to focus on that every day, it becomes easier to stay in your own happy vibration. Remember to have compassion and forgiveness for those heavy souls around you are on their own paths, and allow yourself space from anyone who makes you feel unsafe, or blocks your creative energy, in whatever way that may manifest itself.

IF your energy is in high vibration, you must be careful who you are around, its almost like taking acid, you only do it in a certain type of environment, where you feel safe, with people who are understanding and supportive of you.

The best part of this practice, is that, when you are in your highest happiest vibration, it is kind of contagious, and it will be shared with those around you, so go do something that makes you happy, and then, keep doing it!

Technology is amazing, even if I am usually quick to complain about it a lot of the time. Having a video camera and using it to capture moments in time is wonderful. I was recently in hawaii visiting friends and taking time for myself, when I witnessed my friend and her mother dancing hula for their child/granddaughters’ first birthday. While I couldn’t stand to film the whole time, I did film for a little while, and watching it now, I am glad I did. The trouble with videoing is that you are missing out, on truly experiencing and living in the moment because you are looking at everything through a lense. Aah. A photographers curse and gift, a double edged sword. By capturing the moment, you are not fully engaged in absorbing the moment, but rather the image, so as to relive the moment later. But moments relived are never quite as good, yet we go back to them for joy and comfort. Is that healthy? is that good if you are trying to stay living in the moment? If you are going with the flow in life, are you going to want to stop and take your camera out? For me, the answer is sometimes. It also depends on the rarity of what I am videoing. Afterwards, I am always really glad I did use my camera, and I wish I had done it more. Soo..what a quandary. Thats enough. Its 3 am and I am still on pacific time..Thank you for reading, I have not posted i/n what feels like eons.

With all of the recent political turmoil, I have tried to keep my head in the sand, because there is nothing I can do directly to change any of it. Not being able to effect change is frustrating to me, so I try to avoid subjects which I have no control over. Unfortunately, my dear friends on facebook keep reminding me that there is indeed a big joke of a political shit show on the horizon.

So I started doing some research. I ended up where I always do when I start talking/thinking about politics, arriving at the capitalist vs socialist model. I realize I am possibly a socialist, and that we have decided that won’t work, or hasn’t in other countries. But then I did further research. I found that Albert Einstein, the GENIUS, suggested over 50 years ago exactly what people are still saying now. Capitalism is not the best answer. Neither is pure socialism. And therein lies the paradox. Is it possible to find a balance, where people are doing things they enjoy, for the benefit of themselves and society, and able to survive economically? I hope so, for the sake of humanity and it’s future happiness and growth. Happy New Year! oh and here is the link to the Albert Einstein article..http://monthlyreview.org/2009/05/01/why-socialism

Today is December 18, 2011, and I have sunshine on my mind..It is getting cold here in new england, the sun sets early, and the trees are bare. I always try to take the utmost advantage of the sun while it’s out shining bright, warming and nourishing us with her rays. I look forward to the everchanging skyscape, as the sun sets below the ocean, every days’ sunset like a free beautiful, inspiring gift. Driving this afternoon, I watched how the light changed as time ticked along. The light on the trees turns them red and orange, glowing in her fire through the chilly blue winter sky. As living beings, we get energy from the sun, and energy is a powerful thing.

We put off energy, or “vibes” all the time, only, not everyone is as sensitive to it as some people. OR you may be sensitive to it, but have not realized that that is what you are reacting to. Here’s the thing though, energy is powerful, more powerful than you realize, and also easily transferable. You are the creator of your own energy.

It is your choice what energy you decide to put out into the world, to swirl around with the energy of others. So make yours a good energy, a calm, happy, loving, generous energy. Find your inner energy, whatever makes you tick, and let it make you glow, your own inner sunshine, then shine that light out into the universe. The universe will shine even brighter down on you, and will fill those around you with the same love, light and peacefulness, and understanding, or whatever you choose to shine bright. In these cold December days and nights, we must work extra hard to stay warm and happy. Build a fire with some friends, human or animal or preferably both..it will warm your soul.

Write what you know, is one of the first rules of writing. So, here is what I know about cats.
When you approach a cat you have never met, do not just reach out and pet them, without a proper introduction. Cats want to smell your hand, but do not want it shoved in their face. Offer your hand, palm down, and see if it gets sniffed; If it does, then you have passed the first test and you may offer your best scratch or stroke on the head.

If you approach a cat, and it runs away, do not chase it; in cat world, it’s hunt or be hunted, and being chased to them is like being hunted. If you offer your hand to the cat and it swats at you, do not mistake this as the cat being playful. It means the cat does not want to be bothered by the likes of you.

When your cat is in a playful mood, you will know, the same way you know when a child is in a playful mood. This involves eye contact, scampering about, swatting at anything that moves on you, and/or pouncing.

But back to the approach. If you have been granted access to petting, and continue to do so by being sensitive to what the cat responds to, you can activate their happy, joy button, which is a wonder and delight that is part of all healthy, human-cat friendships. Start out slow, and gently, and observe how they react. Pushing into your hand is a good sign, as is purring, and in some cases, drooling.
Sometimes I joke that cats are like women and dogs are like men. I base this assessment on the way we approach, and show affection to a dog versus a cat. Sure you let both of them sniff your hand first, but after that, the introductions go in different directions.

Cats usually enjoy the top of the head scratch, the behind the ear and back of head scratch, the bony part under their chin, their jawline, and full body pets and often, back scratching. Be warned however, of two things, one that cats don’t like to have their fur messed up, so when petting their back and body, always pet in the direction the fur lays, and two, some cats do not like having their backs touched. To find out, you want to start with the base of the spine right before the tail. They will either turn around and bite you, or they will push their rear-ends up in the air with their tails straight, and all of their business out in the open.

It is important to remember that every cat, like every person, is different, and some like certain things and not others. The best way to find out what your cat likes, is to try a variety of different techniques, and find the one which they respond positively to and repeat, on both sides of the head and or face or chin.
Sometimes, a cat will react positively at first, but then become overstimulated to the point where they will turn around and bite or claw you. This indicates that whatever you were doing, while okay in small doses, becomes somewhat annoying after a turn, much like being tickled.

Taking the time to get to know your cats’ special spots, the ones that get their engine literally purring, is an extremely rewarding and bonding activity. It creates love and trust, the basis of any healthy relationship. It will also bring you joy, as you bring joy to your cat with affection.

In response to this love and joy, cats often want to give back. They do this by licking your hand, your face, chewing on your eyelashes, biting/ lightly chewing on your fingers, or maybe even grabbing hold of your nose in their teeth. Occasionally, you will run into a cat who, bites a little too hard while overcome with extreme happiness. One of my cats that I currently live with does this. Afterwards, she is always extra gentle, to show me that she is trying to be mindful of the fact that she just caused me to screamed out in pain.

Love bites are an often misunderstood part of cat behavior, as I have learned while working with cats and the general public at the shelter. Somehow, a lot of people think that either any cat bite is vicious, or the complete opposite, that all of them are out of affection. The fact of the matter is that neither of these views is accurate, and every bite is situation specific, ALWAYS. By simply taking the time to observe your cat, and its’ behavior in different situations, you will get to know and understand their unique and wonderful personalities. Remember to adopt an animal, don’t support the breeding of more animals when we are killing them by the hundreds and thousands every year. Blessings, love, compassion and peace to all the homeless animals, waiting in shelters, for their forever homes.

I believe it was DMX, the rapper, who said, “let a dog roam and he’ll find his way home”. From my experience, this proves to be correct. I have recently taken on caring for my neighbor’s two dogs, a yellow lab and an irish setter. We live out on 40 acres of trails and ponds, streams and woods, and salt marsh. I have noticed, that while the dogs love to go for walks with a human, they never seem to take themselves on walks. They do go on missions, to the farm down the road, the neighbors’ house through the woods, and so on, but they always have purpose. Ambling along with an actual human seems to be a far superior experience. If I leave them outside, and go in the house, they just lie down outside and wait until I come out again or let them in.

Dogs are loyal, loving creatures. It must be in their DNA. They yearn for the soft pat of a human hand, a gentle, loving look, a nurturing, soothing tone. Like babies and toddlers, they respond very much to the tone and volume of the human voice. A friend of mine who has a lot of dog experience once told me that, if I was ever with a dog off leash, and I couldn’t get the dog to come back to me, to lie down on the ground and make noises like I was being attacked, whimpering and crying, and yelping out. Although it could create quite a scene, I have used this trick, and it does work with dogs.

Today while babysitting, I wondered if it would work with children. My charge had wandered into another room mid diaper change, and thought it was hilarious to try to escape me putting on the diaper. I have been kind of sick, so my energy has been a little low, so instead of chasing after him, I tried making some kind of dog crying noises, like a puppy. It worked like a charm!! He came running into the room to see what he was missing. Just one of the many similarities between toddlers and dogs, amazing!! I guess you could say, let a child roam as well and they will find their way home to the nurturing love they crave.

( I am obviously not advocating unsupervised play, but I think it is good to keep a distance, and let them explore without a human hovering over them, projecting conflicting energy) . ~ my lovebyte of the day 🙂 xoxo H